


A Debt Repaid

by Major_Lightning



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 14:40:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14673234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Major_Lightning/pseuds/Major_Lightning
Summary: Prompt Meme from Tumblr. Gil does his best to repay the cute barista after forgetting his wallet.





	A Debt Repaid

**Author's Note:**

> It’s a Modern Day Coffee Shop AU (Sue me I write what I know). Inspired by a prompt meme on Tumblr. Also, it turns out that my writing skills are way rustier than I anticipated so…. yeah I mean I guess read it and laugh lmao.

“Next Customer!” Scott shouted over the din of the coffee shop he worked at.

A man in a blue hoodie and bright red hair messily brushed back stepped forward, “Can I get a large vanilla latte with coconut milk to take away please” he asked.

Scott forced the urge to raise an eyebrow. While he hated the stereotypes around people and their drink orders, he had to admit the other man had thrown him through a loop with that one.

“That’ll be $3.95” he said

The other man reached into his pocket and froze. “Uhh, I don’t suppose you would be open to me robbing you?” He asked, a blush slowly crawling up his neck.

Scott laughed. “Maybe if you had ordered something scarier and weren’t blushing, right now you’re not very intimidating.” Taking pity on the other man, he said, “Tell ya what, you can owe me one”.

The other man perked up “Thanks mate, although what exactly do I owe you?” he replied playfully.

“A kiss under a distant planet, illuminated by the shining moon high in the sky”

Gil raised an eyebrow, “I may not be able to deliver on that” he said.

“Alright fine, it’s on the house, it’s my good deed for the month. I’m like the good samaritan except I’m helping a cute doofus instead of a robbed dude” Scott shot back. “How about just your name instead?”.

“It’s Gil, and yes I’ve heard all the jokes. What’s yours?”

“Scott” he said, giving the other man a wink. He couldn’t tell if Gil was picking up on what he hoped were his obvious flirting signals. Truthfully flirting was not his forte, and what skills he had, had fallen into disrepair long ago.

As he made the man’s order he took the chance to discreetly check him out. Scott had to admit that he was even hotter than he first thought. He figured the other man was around his age, and those eyes, those were eyes he could get lost in. Gil appeared to be staring at the chalkboard with the quote of the day Cora had lovingly written that morning with indifference, although Scott thought he saw a flicker of movement in the corner of the other man’s eye.

Before he could decide if he was imagining things, his hand started to burn. Rapidly turning his attention back to the drink he was just about to ruin, he thankfully managed to save it in time. If he got lost in thought and ended up splattering the walls with milk one more time this week Cora was going to kill him. Being able to impress the cute guy with his drink making skills was also a plus too.

“There you go, one large coconut vanilla latte, made with love and on the house” he said, handing the other man his coffee.

“Thank’s Scott, and don’t worry, I always pay my debts” Gil said, with a smile, his piercing eyes staring playfully into Scott’s.

“Ahha anytime dude” Scott managed to choke out, as e felt a rising surge of heat rapidly approach his neckline.

This appeared to make the other man smile and he turned to saunter out the door on the way to… wherever it was he was going.

“Really? ‘anytime dude’, that’s what you went with?” asked Cora, who had evidently been watching everything from the doorway to the Kitchen.

“What? I’m rusty, besides at least I don’t hide in the kitchen whenever my crush comes by” he shot back. Cora smiled at him, and he knew that he was going to pay for that remark at a later date.

He and Cora had gotten off to a rocky start. She was his father’s protege and he was far from the son his father had wanted, but after they were essentially purged from the military, they had to stick together. Even more so after Alec’s disappearance. Scott liked Cora though, she pushed him and didn’t let him swallow his own excuses, and he helped her loosen up a little.

“Do you think he’ll be back?” Scott asked.

Cora grinned, “Probably, he was checking you out just as much as you were checking him out” she replied.

Scott punched the air, which made Cora laugh.

 

* * *

 

The next day, a familiar figure waltzed in shortly after opening. “Hey Scott, can I get an Americano to go, I can pay ya this time,” Gil said cheerily.

“Now that’s a big change since yesterday, what gives?” Scott asked as he made the other mans order.

“Having a regular order is so predictable, I just pick what my gut tells me, today it said Americano.”

“A man of impulse, that’s very sexy you know”

“Oh is it?” Gil said, the tone of his voice subtly shifting to something smoother, kinder, more intimate. “Well, I’ll have to remember that”.

After Scott had rung him up, Gil turned to leave but paused. “Hey Scott, I think I know how to pay you back… kind of, but it involves a small road trip, you interested?”

“Sure, yeah why not,” replied Scott, as he tried to ignore his sweating palms and the rising heat in his chest. Was this a date, even if it was why was he so hot and bothered. What was going on?

“Great, I’ll pick you up tonight, see you then,” Gil said with a smile, and with that, he left.

“Did you just get asked on a date?” Cora asked.

“I think so,” said Scott.

Before the conversation could continue, he saw Cora’s crush, Jaal, leave the store he worked at and start walking over to their coffee shop, likely in pursuit of a coffee or a bagel. Before Cora noticed and made an excuse, Scott quickly untied his apron and dashed into the Kitchen “Gotta take a quick break” he called out to Cora as he sped back to the Kitchen, out of Cora’s sight but still able to see the counter.

Cora looked confused until the doorbell chimed and Jaal walked in, at which point she began to turn blush and awkwardly try and get coherent sentences out as she served the man.

 

* * *

 

As Ryder left the shop, he saw Gil waiting for him, leaning against a beat up old land rover. “You ready?” Gil asked.

“Oh absolutely,” Scott replied

As they drove through the town, freshly covered in a thick blanket of snow, Scott realized that they were leaving it and heading in the directions of the mountains that loomed over their home.

“Where exactly are we going?”

“Trust me alright, it’s a surprise” replied Gil. “Don’t worry, I promise I’m not a murderer”.

At this Scott laughed, “Trust me, Gil, if anyone’s dying tonight it’s not going to be me”. Gil gave him a puzzled look. “I’m more… well, I was once more than a barista” he replied. While Dad’s intensive training had been hard on him and Sarah, it had left him with a valuable skill set that meant he could take care of himself.

“You never told me what you do during the day,” said Scott, trying to shift the conversation away from him.

“I’m the chief mechanic at the nearby military base, I keep everything running smoothly over there, even fix up old cars like this one in my spare time, it’s probably the only thing I was really good at, well, that and poker.”

“Poker? I suppose it fits doesn’t it, you seem like someone who likes the thrill of unknown risks, reading people too. We should play sometime.”

“Oh, is that a challenge?” asked Gil, with a hint of mischief in his voice.

“Not really, I’ve only ever played the strip version and I’m very bad at it…. Or very good, depending on what you count as winning,” Scott said with a playful grin.

“Well, I only regret that I didn’t bring any playing cards with me,” Gil said, and Scott noticed his cheeks were ever so slightly flushed.

They sat in silence for a while, Gil focusing on the road and Scott staring out the window at the dark creeping forest that sped by them. He liked the forest, and it’s secrets. It was open but mysterious, you could explore it till the end of your days and it still might not reveal all it’s secrets to you, and while it was full of beauty there was still the danger you might get lost in it. He wondered if this applied to Gil too, the other man was… open on the surface but Scott sensed a deep layer of complexity that was closed off to the world, rumbling deep below.

“Do you have any family nearby?” He asked Gil.

“Not really, never knew my parents, and I grew up in the foster system. I was lucky, I was always meddling with old engines and tech, it was easy for me to get a job, to get out. Not everyone did. There’s Jill, we met in the same foster home, we don’t always agree on everything but we’ve got each other’s backs, only way we could survive really. She’s a developmental biologist at the nearby college now, we don’t see each other as much as we should.” Gil replied, there was a sad tone in his voice, his was a life with less happy moments than there should have been. “What about you?” he asked Scott.

“My mom died a year ago, my dad disappeared off the face of the Earth. Me and my sister are the only ones left. We were a Navy family but… well, Dads parting gift was to ruin not only his career, but mine and Sarah’s, and even Cora’s too. Sarah works overseas now, she mainly acts as a liaison between archeological dig teams from here and the locals.”

“Wait, who’s Cora?”

“Oh right, she’s the woman at the coffee shop. We started it together, neither of us really knew what to do after Dad and we’d always joked about it. It’s fun but… I think we’re both using it as a resting spot until we know what to do.” Scott finished.

“Well… shit, and I thought I had a lot going on” Gil said

Scott laughed “Here’s to crazy histories, and even crazier futures” he mimed and toast, as did Gil, albeit with one hand.

The conversation fell to a natural lull, as they both contemplated what the other had said.

Half an hour later and they were there, there being up the side of one of the mountains that surrounded the town. “Come on, it’s about ten minutes walk that way,” said Gil as he pointed in a direction that looked no different than any other direction.

“If we get lost, I will eat you for food,” said Scott, but he followed Gil nonetheless.

“Scott?” Gill asked after the pair had been walking a couple of minutes.

“Yes?”

“I… don’t know why but you’re different” he began “And I have a tendency to rush into things, and when it comes to relationships, well normally the other person is just as eager to rush in and then rush away just as fast but, that’s not…” he trailed off.

“Gil, I, along with the rest of the Ryders, am many things, but I promise you I’m not scared of going fast,, I love it, I love not knowing what will happen. Only by leaping from the edge to we discover that we can fly.” Scott paused for a second “That being said, I will happily put on the brakes if you want, I suppose you we have only known each other for forty-eight hours”.

“Does that bother you?” asked Gil. He was trying to sound nonchalant but the twinge of worry did not escape Scott’s notice.

“Truthfully? No. I’ve seen people rush into things and have it end in disaster, but the same can be said for people who are cautious. I think the person matters more than the speed, and I have a good feeling about you”.

Gil seemed relieved. “Thank’s Scott” he whispered, almost as if he was afraid the other man would hear.

Scott smiled and reached out for the other man’s hand. Gil seemed surprised but he let Scott firmly grasp his hand. Gil’s hand was warmer and much rougher than Scott, years of hands-on mechanic work having left its work.

The two walked hand in hand, two kindred spirits intertwined as one until they reached a small clearing.

Scott gasped. The clearing was on a natural ledge at the side of the mountain. Stretched out below was the town, the lights glittering in the distance as it danced across the snowflakes gently falling from the sky. Above them the full moon hung in the sky, casting it’s glow across the land so that even though around them it was dark, that clearing was naturally alight.

“Gil… it’s beautiful” Scott said breathlessly, and it truly was. Scott had traveled the world and had seen so much natural beauty, to know that it lay also so close to home was oddly comforting.

“Ahha thanks, I used to come here with… an old friend.” Gil paused, “I know it’s not under a distant planet, that was slightly outside my budget, but I hope this is close enough.” he said, his cheeks glowing red.

Scott paused, was the other man embarrassed, or flustered? He turned to Gil and laid his hand flat on Gil’s chest. Even under his jacket, Scott could feel Gil’s heartbeat quicken. He turned to look up at Gil, who was staring intently back at him. “I think I said something about a kiss?”

“Well…” Gil began, as his arms wrapped around Scott, and Scott, in turn, ran his other hand around to the back of Gil’s head. “I really don’t want to ru-” the sentence fading from his mouth as Scott slowly pulled Gill forward into a kiss.

It was, in truth, probably not the best kiss in the history of kisses. Both men were out of practice and emotions running high tends to make things run less smoothly, but it was a “good enough” kind kiss and neither party would trade it for the world.

Gil’s lips were warm against Scotts, much warmer than the snow gently falling around them, and for a moment however brief, the Universe shrank to a single point, two men locked in an embrace, before it exploded outwards in a loud shattering storm of light and beauty.

Scott breathlessly pulled away from the warm embrace. “You certainly paid your debt in full, but would you consider a charitable donation?”

Gil laughed, and leaned back in for another kiss.


End file.
